An Innu community's fight against a new cocaine crisis

In the small Innu community of Sheshatshiu, Labrador, 27 people have died from drug-related causes in just two years — a staggering number for a population of only 2,000. At the centre of this crisis is an alarming surge in cocaine, now deadlier than before.

Police and drug experts say the situation on this Innu reserve is a consequence of a booming cocaine trade that’s unleashed high-purity cocaine into even remote corners of the country.

In his documentary, Pure Hell, CBC investigative journalist Ryan Cooke goes on a quest to find out why this is happening. His journey takes him from the high-stakes pursuit of smugglers aboard a Canadian Navy vessel in the Caribbean, to Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation, where former federal cabinet minister Peter Penashue was so desperate to save his community that he attacked a suspected drug dealer's car with a crowbar.

Produced by Ryan Cooke and Joan Webber with help from Katie Breen / originally aired on The Current. 

Storylines is part of the CBC Audio Doc Unit